Presidential Library invites to screening of documentary 1942. Road of Life in Sanahin

On Monday, March 3rd, 2025 at 16:00 Moscow time, the Presidential Library Cinema Club will be hosting a public screening and discussion of the new documentary film 1942: Road of Life in Sanahin.

This film is a joint project between the Union of Journalists of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region and the State Museum of Defence and Siege of Leningrad, and it was the winner of the second grant competition from the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives. 

Directed by Ekaterina Dodzina, the film tells the story of the evacuation of orphans from besieged Leningrad to Armenia, and the courage and heroism of the teachers who worked in the orphanages. It also highlights the kindness and generosity of the people of the small mountain village of Sanahin in Armenia, who rescued the Leningrad orphans during those difficult times.

For the first time, the filmmakers have unveiled the miraculously preserved archives of orphanage number 51. These include the diaries of teachers, photographs, and documents, as well as the memories of the director, Hana Alexandrovna Gershenok. During the war, she instructed her staff to keep detailed records, starting from the evacuation along the "Road of Life" on April 10, 1942, when a convoy of trucks carrying children came under attack from German aircraft.

It took almost a month to travel to Krasnodar Territory. The last train is to Novorossiysk, from where there is a three-day passage across the Black Sea to Sukhumi. A few days later, the train with the children arrived in Yerevan.

The second homeland for orphanage No. 51 was the Armenian village of Sanahin, where exhausted children were picked up by local residents in their arms. There, not far from the walls of a medieval monastery, little Leningraders were returning to life.…

The event will take place at Saint-Petersburg, Senate Square, 3.

Please confirm personal presence by phone (812) 305-16-21 (ext. 645) or email excursion@prlib.ru, p.popova@prlib.ru to Polina Popova by 17:00 on February 27.

The event is available for everyone. The meeting will be broadcasted on the Presidential Library’s portal in Live Broadcasts section, as well as on the Rutube-channel of the Library, on the social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki.

Accreditation of media representatives is until 14:00 February 28, 2025

Please forward applications for accreditation following the attached form marked Media Accreditation at media@prlib.ru, dyatko@prlib.ru Olga Dyatko, tel.: (812) 305-16-21, ext. 190; mob. +7 (900) 658-48-32.

The letter should contain the full name, date and place of birth, passport data (series, number, place of registration), a list of carry-on equipment, contact phone numbers, the name of the media.

We draw the attention of the media representatives that it is necessary to forward applications for accreditation and arrive at the event in advance.

Entrance to the Presidential Library is carried out only by prior registration and upon showing a passport: for media representatives - through entrance № 2.